Gantz Trivia
Gantz Trivia * Gantz's apartment bears a strong resemblance to a famous building in the Ebisu area of Shibuya. * One of the Vampires bears a striking resemblance to actor Vincent Gallo from the movie Buffalo '66. * Kappe Alien Mission takes place in Chiba, Chiba Makuhari. * During the Buddha mission of the anime (in the English version only), Konta makes a reference to the movie Shaft in which Tomao tells him to "Shut your mouth" to which Konta replied with "But you can dig it can't you" which is a reference to the popularized theme song. * In the anime, the notebook computer that Nishi used to keep track of the 'games' was an Apple PowerBook G4. * The stronger 'Vampires' in the Gantz universe are dressed in formal suits and wear sunglasses. They bear a strong presence and resemblance to the 'Agents' from 'The Matrix' trilogy. Both parties are similar in that they wear similar attire, and are both considered 'unbeatable'. * Episode 3 of the series there is a reference to the series Dragon Ball and Hokuto no Ken. The reference refers to Goku and Kenshiro, which Kato used to describe Kei Kurono. * The sunglasses and contact lenses used by the vampires to see the Gantz team are similar to the Hoffman Lenses from They Live. * Volume 1, Issue 3: The song being played by Gantz is one from a popular postwar Japanese exercise radio program. * Volume 1, Issue 4: (1) The writing on the Gantz ball is in Leet language. (2) "Denpa Shōnen" is a stunt reality show running now for about a decade and made most famous by the comedian Nasubi. (3) * Volume 1, Issue 5: (1) Honoo Challenge is a Japanese game show (2) Franz Harary is an American magician and illusionist. * Volume 1, Issue 6: (1) Natto are a traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans. (2) The Onion Alien 1st Mission takes place in Ichinomiya (一宮, literally "First Shrine") in Tama, Tokyo. * Volume 1, Issue 9: Eichmann test is referring to Adolph Eichmann, an SS soldier in World War II. the term "Eichmann test" describes the player's instructions to blindly obey Gantz and kill the aliens. * Volume 3, Issue 23: Bosozoku are Japanese motorcycle gangs. * Volume 3, Issue 25: The "Shosen Grand" in Jinbōchō is a good area from Tokyo to locate rare books and manga. * Volume 3, Issue 25: "Aerts" and "Hickson" are references to Peter Aerts and Rickson Gracie * Volume 3, Issue 29: Tetsuo Nemoto is the leader of the Bosozoku Japanese motorcycle gang that partakes in the Tanaka Alien Mission. * Volume 4, Issue 37: The Tanaka Alien's words "Hey, hey, hey, it's a beautiful day" are Daniel Boone's "Beautiful Day." This was covered in 1976 by Japanese singer Seiji Tanaka. The Tanaka Alien (Tanaka Seijin) is a play on his name in Japanese (Tanaka Seiji). The other things the Alien say are bits of his other songs and "Yuzo" is the name of his cousin. His name was changed in the anime to "Suzuki Alien" perhaps due to Seiji's discontent of his portrayal. * Volume 4, Issue 40: Yoshinoya (吉野家) is the largest chain among beef bowl (Gyūdon) restaurants and one of the leading fast food chains in Japan; often shortened to "Yoshigyū" (meaning Yoshinoya's beef) among its enthusiasts. * Volume 5, Issue 47: (1) "Yuzo" refers to Yuzo Gucci, the original singer on the show "Together With Mom," a cousin of Seiji Tanaka who was the lead singer of the comedic band "Busy Four" and famous for his impersonations of Tanaka. The "Haah" and "beautiful" lines originate from the lyrics of his biggest hit, "Beautiful Sunday." Famous Watermelon Lands and "Did you make some friends" are lines from his "Famous Watermelon Lands" song. (2) Kagoshima Prefecture is where his current record label is located at. (3) His sidekick "Gyoro-chan" is a grotesque take-off of a "Choco Ball" Morinaga Confections mascot, "Kyoro-chan." Tanaka was well-known for his appearance in Morinaga commercials from 1973 to 1988.http://hen.risu.com/gantz_tanaka.htm * Volume 5, Issue 56: Oolong tea is a traditional Chinese type of tea. * Volume 5, Issue 57: (1) Sei Sakuraoka from the Buddha Mission looks like Lara Croft from Tomb Raider. (2) Musou Tokugawa, the monk from the Buddha Mission, looks like the Japanese television personality Odamudo. (3) Tougou Juuzou (the sniper in the military fatigues in the Buddha Mission) looks like Duke Togo, the codename for the assassin from Golgo 13. (4) JJ, the American karate practitioner from the Buddha Mission, looks like Geese Howard from SNK. (5) Tomao from the Buddha Mission looks like the Japanese actor Yosuke Kubozuka. (6) Tomao's friend, Konta, also from the Buddha Mission looks like Kawabata Kaname, a Japanese musician from Chemistry. (7) "Namuami Dabutsu" is a Japanese Buddhist prayer meaning "I take refuge in Amida Buddha." * Volume 6, Issue 67: The Buddhist Temple Alien statue that appears on the rooftop looks like one of the Buddhist Bishamonten or Tamonten deities who are in statue form in Kamakura. * Volume 6, Issue 68: Among the remaining Buddhist Temple Aliens are the Tentouki (Tentoki) and Ryuutoki (Ryutoki) creature who hold lantern. Though originally evil, they were trampled by the Shitenno (Four Deva Kings), repented, were saved, and now carry lanterns as offerings for the Buddha.http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/ishidoro.shtml#offerings * Volume 6, Issue 69: The big Buddhist Temple Alien is based on a Buddha statue located at Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara. In the anime version, JJ even comments: "Wow, cool! It's a Japanese Daibutsu!" * Volume 7, Issue 72: (1) The Seibu Line runs from Seibu Shinjuku Station in Shinjuku, Tokyo to Honkawagoe Station (本川越駅) in Kawagoe, Saitama. (2) Higashi-Nagasaki (東長崎駅) Station is in the Toshima ward of Tokyo. (3) Ikebukuro (池袋) is a part of Toshima ward and is a large commercial and entertainment district of Tokyo. * Volume 8, Issue 87: "Thousand Arms Kannon" Buddhist Temple Alien (part 2) looks like Spider Smith from the movie Lost In Space. * Volume 8, Issue 93: (1) Kei Kurono's laptop is a Sony VAIO. (2) The Tanaka Alien 2nd Mission took place in Itabashi (板橋区), one of 23 special wards of Tokyo. * Volume 8, Issue 94: Regarding Nishi's website, Izumi wonders if its a parallel to the beginnings of Blair Witch 2. * Volume 9, Issue 95: Chibi / Shorty Alien: (1) Has uzumaki or swirls on his cheeks and chest. (2) The Chibi Alien looks like a statue of a kami in the Shinsekai district of Osaka. * Volume 9, Issue 101: Red Envelope are occasionally given from married couples to friends and family. * Volume 10, Issue 108: Shibuya is known for being a fashion epicenter of Tokyo and all of Japan as well as being a particularly famous for its nightlife. * Volume 10, Issue 109: Sakata Kenzō asks if he looks like Takuya Kimura (木村拓哉), a Japanese actor and singer. * Volume 10, Issue 114: Hiroto Sakurai ("Cherry") is shown wearing a UEFA Champions League sweater. * Volume 10, Issue 115: From the Gantz Manual, Oku Hiroya clearly states that Kaze Daizaemon's inspiration for Hakkyoku-Ken, a Chinese martial arts known as Bajiquan, is Virtua Fighter's Akira Yuki. * Volume 10, Issue 117: Kei Kurono poses like the Karate Kid. * Issue 122: An Advertisement for a James Bond Movie can be seen in the Background of Page 5. * Issue 124: Izumi is wearing Adidas Handshoes. * Issue 134: The cover girl looks like Fujiko Mine from Lupin III. * Volume 17, Issue 191: Oni Mission takes place in Ikebukuro. * Issue 228: One of the girls hitting on Akira Kurono and his friends looks like Chiaki Kuriyama. * Issue 232: Izumi Shion fights the Vampires in Chiyoda Park outside of Mizuo Train Station. * Issue 233: Razor Ramon HG is shown on Kei Kurono's television while flipping through channels. * Issue 234: Kei Kurono goes to shop in Akihabara to find a counter weapon against the Vampires. * Issue 235: The subtext of: "The dew may stay on the withered flower, but it will never see another evening." of the issue's title is borrowed from Hōjōki (1212) by Japanese author Kamo no Chōmei (1155-1216).